Given our recent spat of cooking disasters, we probably would have ended up with some pretty grim meals if it weren’t for one thing: the incredible edible egg. Scrambled, poached, or fried, eggs seem to have the magical power to turn almost any random assortment of ingredients into a complete and satisfying meal. Phew!
Adding an egg to each person’s plate is one of the easiest ways to turn a side dish into a full meal. We had a ton of our Potato, Green Bean, and Corn Salad left after developing that recipe. A poached egg with a generous scoop of this salad turned out to make a great lunch throughout rest of the week.
Another favorite meal at our house is garlicky swiss chard over polenta with a fried egg on top, pictured above. It’s so simple, and yet the flavors and textures go together incredibly well. We’ve had eggs on pizza when we were lacking other toppings and put slices of hard-boiled eggs on sandwiches when we’ve run out of lunch meat. Anywhere we needed a little something to round out a meal, an egg seems to do the trick.
What are some of the ways you put eggs to work?
Related: Un-Scrambled: More Ways to Eat an Egg
(Image: Emma Christensen)
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Omeletes are great for using up the last bits of produce.
I love putting an egg on it!! And by "it", I mean pretty much anything.
It's been sizzling around here and the only hot meal I've managed to make this week were some low-maintenance panfried noodles with ginger-scallion sauce. But each serving got topped with a chinese-style fried egg, drizzle some dark soy over, pass around bottles of hoisin and sriracha at the table, and everyone was happy!
I also often add a fried egg to top some ramen, salad, rice bowl, or sandwich. Certain salads are also happier with some hard-boiled eggs. And I love a good curry with some hard-boiled wedges nearby too.
I've been doing something similar for the past few weeks with an open-faced pimento cheese and tomato sandwich with a poached egg on top. You can see more of it here: http://bit.ly/9dFvkb
How does one cook an egg like the one in the picture above? I guess what I mean is, how do you get that milky white over the (seemingly) runny yolk without flipping it? Or is that not a real egg up there?
I've only recently discovered the beauty that is the runny yolk. Can't believe I waited so long to give it another shot! I'm still having trouble cooking them perfectly each time without breaking the yolk. It's the flipping that does it, so if there's a way without flipping them, someone please, clue me in!
@violet - throw a lid on top of your pan. the heat will circulate and cook the "icky gooey white" (as the bf calls it) and leave the yolk lovely and runny.
It reminds me of Korean cooking. They put eggs in quite a few of their dishes. One I love is their naeng myun. It's a buckwheat noodle served in cold broth. Perfect for the summer! They put a sliced hard boiled egg on top, and it's a delicious contrast in flavors. http://missamyscerra.blogspot.com
I love putting poached eggs on salads. A 4 min poach is the best because then the runny yolk is the most delicious and rich salad dressing ever.
Frittatas are great too for using up random things in the produce bin. They're quick and easy and always delicious. I find too that if you say it's a frittata to whomever is going to eat it instead of something like an egg casserole they will always be impressed.
I often add a fried egg to the top of stir-fried veggies and buckwheat noodles. I also just recently started poaching eggs...why did I wait so long to try this? Mmm, so good! I started an egg co-op a couple years ago, so I get really nice local eggs.
@violet - Yup, I did exactly what konar said! I just set a lid over the egg as it fries to help the top set. If you have a clear lid, then you can tell how far it's cooked without lifting it off.
Yep. Check out my zine Put A Egg On It! http://www.putaeggonit.com
A friend was asking me for ideas on how to cook green beans because he has a bumper crop. I sent him this recipe for Green Beans with Caramelized Onion Poached Egg Nest.
http://www.atthefarmersmarket.com/2010/07/green-beans-with-caramelized-onion-egg.html
@Mr. McGinnis -- is it actually about putting eggs on things?! I can't tell. It looks cute! Even if I can't bring myself to say "a egg."
I agree with many of the comments here - putting an egg, in any form (poached, scrambled, hard-boiled, etc) really adds some texture, flavor and protein to vegetable-based dishes. I wanted to dress up some sauteed chard and leeks and an egg was perfect:
http://coldcerealandtoast.com/2010/02/01/egg-topped-rainbow-chard-and-leek-saute/
It's not specifically about it. Just what it represents.
Say it really fast, "putUHeggonit"